2011 MLB preview: NL West

2010 Record: 92-70; first place, National League West (defeated Rangers in World Series)

Manager: Bruce Bochy, fifth season

Key Additions: SS Miguel Tejada

Key Departures: SS Edgar Renteria, 2B Juan Uribe, SP Dontrelle Willis

Season preview: What do you get for the World Champion that has everything? If you’re the San Francisco Giants, who won their first title since leaving New York over a half century ago, the answer is next to nothing. The team that won 92 games stood largely pat during the offseason, save for signing the 37-year-old Tejada (.269, 15 HRs, 71 RBI for the Padres) to replace Renteria at shortstop. Minor league hotshot Brandon Belt (.352, 23 HRs, 112 RBI) will get a shot at either first or left field (with Aubrey Huff taking the other position) and 3B Pablo Sandoval looks to have slimmed down and should do better than his disappointing .268 sophomore year. With C Buster Posey, they’ll form an efficient though not intimidating lineup. The rotation – Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, Madison Bumgarner and Barry Zito – is one of the game’s best, as is the bullpen led by closer Brian Wilson. This team is primed and ready to go back to the playoffs; all it takes is another well-timed hot streak to push it to another title.

Ron Darling’s (TBS) take: “Their pitching is going to be great. Their bullpen is going to be great. I think that they’ve done a nice job of adding some better talent that’s going to go a long way toward scoring some more runs.”

Season preview: The Padres managed to win 90 games in 2010 with an offense that ranked near the bottom in nearly every major category – and that was with one of the elite run producers in house. Now with Gonzalez gone, the strategy has been to strengthen the defense up the middle, hoping that elite defenders at shortstop (Bartlett), second base (Hudson) and center field (Maybin) will augment a strong rotation and win games on run prevention, rather than run production. As for the rotation, it’s been upgraded as well with Harang and Moseley, who join the promising core of Mat Latos, Clayton Richard and Tim Stauffer. Of course, scoring runs will be the challenge this year, so the team hopes that the whole of this offense (which also includes 3B Chase Headley, LF Ryan Ludwick, and C Nick Hundley) – and a breakthrough year for Maybin – will be greater than the sum of its parts. Were it not for a late fade, the Pods would have been the NL West representative in last year’s postseason, but the loss of Gonzo’s pop makes it difficult to pick them over the Giants this year.

Ron Darling’s (TBS) take: “I would not be surprised if they play a lot of squeakers again this year but are right there.”

Season preview: After finishing third in the NL West last year, the Rockies stood largely pat in terms of major acquisitions, content to let the in-house talent prove itself in 2011. Three Rockies emerged as elite players in ’10 – SS Troy Tulowitzki, LF Carlos Gonzalez and SP Ubaldo Jiminez. But 1B Todd Helton, C Chris Ianetta and SP Aaron Cook all suffered significant falloffs last year, so comeback years from all three are critical. Second base is wide open among youngsters Eric Young Jr., Jonathan Herrera and Chris Nelson. Imports Wigginton and Lopez will also augment the offense. The pitching staff has even more question marks. The rotation behind Jiminez and Jorge De La Rosa is shaky, and closer Huston Street is recovering from shoulder woes, making former Marlin Lindstrom the man on the spot if Street isn’t ready. Too many issues make this team hard to consider for a playoff berth.

Ron Darling’s (TBS) take: “They have a lot of talent. The problem is some of their players have to perform better.”

Season preview: The Dodgers dropped to fourth place last year, done in mainly by periodic disappearances by the middle of the order – 1B James Loney, CF Matt Kemp and RF Andre Ethier – and closer Jonathan Broxton. No major free agent signings were made this off-season, thanks largely to the ongoing McCourt divorce, so the team’s fortunes will ride with this core group in 2011. The Dodgers will also need a return to health for 2B Rafael Furcal, slowed by hamstring and back injuries last year. With Martin gone, the team must find a starting catcher from among Navarro, Rod Barajas and A.J. Ellis, and left field is a toss-up between Gwynne, Jay Gibbons and career infielders Uribe, Jamey Carroll and Casey Blake. On the plus side, the rotation – Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilly, Huroki Kuroda and Garland – is solid, and if Broxton is his usual self, so is the bullpen. But with so many questions in the lineup, it’s hard to take this team seriously in the West.

Ron Darling’s (TBS) take: “If (Loney, Kemp and Ethier) play great this season, there’s no telling how far the Dodgers can go.”

Season preview: After finishing last in back-to-back seasons, D’backs GM Kevin Towers took the bull by the horns and swept out nearly 40 percent of the roster. Gone are mainstays Reynolds, LaRoche and Webb; in is an almost entirely new bullpen led by closer Putz. With LaRoche and Reynolds and their combined 57 home runs departed, the mantel of the offense falls on stud OFs Chris Young and Justin Upton, who must remain healthy enough to play more than the 133 games he played in 2010. He and some combination of 2B Kelly Johnson (.284, 26 HRs, 71 RBIs), Nady, Mora and young 1Bs Juan Miranda/Brandon Allen will form a patchwork middle of the order. Daniel Hudson (7-1, 1.69 ERA), Ian Kennedy and Joe Saunders head a youthful and more stable rotation that should do better than its league-worst 4.58 ERA in ’10. With an improved bullpen and rotation, the Diamondbacks should win more than 65 games in 2011, though the loss of power in the middle of the lineup makes it hard to picture this team with a winning record.

Ron Darling’s (TBS) take: “I think (the key) really is their outfielders, Upton and Young. If they start to become the player they can become, I think they’ll be a really, really good offensive team. But I don’t see them having enough starting pitching to compete in the West.”